Elsewhere, songs deal with the idea of living death through cryogenics (“Trapped Under Ice”), self-empowerment (“Escape”), and tales of Biblical prophecy (the timeless anthem “Creeping Death”). The latter permeates the title track, which explodes with a catchy groove-infested riff and an anthemic chorus that still rings out loud today – the work of a maturing band pushing the boundaries of heavy metal and exploring uncharted territory within the very genre they had helped create. Abandoning the then-dominant heavy metal subject matter of demons, wizards and fantasy, Ride The Lightning’s lyrical content was inspired by politics, history, war, and capital punishment. The album’s opening track, “Fight Fire With Fire,” sets the tone, its sophisticated – but nonetheless brutal – sound creating a perfectly balanced masterpiece. Clearly also step up from its predecessor in terms of production, Ride The Lightning evidenced a more advanced and powerful delivery which is now deemed a genre-defining cornerstone in the way that the thrash and speed metal subgenres sound today. The resultant album cemented Metallica’s separation from their denim- and leather-clad peers. Just prior to finishing a tour with UK black metal pioneers Venom in June 1982, Metallica arrived in Copenhagen to begin pre-recording rehearsals and writing material for Ride The Lightning in Sweet Silence Studios, with producer Flemming Rasmussen at the helm.